Dental jacket



April 18, 1939. B. H. EISENSTEIN DENTAL JACKET Filed Dec. 1, 1937INVENTOR I Bernard H. Elsensfem BY Mk ATTOR Y5 Patented Apr. 18, 1939UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

My present invention relates generally to dental appliances and hasparticular reference to an improved dental jacket and to a new deviceadapted to enter into the formation of such a jacket. It is the generalobject of my invention to provide a dental jacket with a reenforcedbiting surface. More particularly, it is an object to provide a dentaljacket whose side wall fits snugly over the tooth to be jacketed, andwhose top wall is of increased thickness and strength, the side and topwalls being integrated into a single unit, and the upper surface of thetop wall conforming exactly to the biting surface that is desired.

A further object of my invention is to provide a dental jacket of theforegoing character with a minimum amount ofrelatively valuablematerial.

A still further object lies in the provision of a novel sleeve-likedevice which may be sold to dentists as a new article of manufacture andwhich may thereupon be used by a dentist in forming a dental jacket, thedevice being of a character which enters into the ultimate jacket as anintegral part thereof.

I achieve the foregoing objects and such other objects as mayhereinafter appear or be pointed out in the manner exemplified in theaccompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational cross section through a device of the presentimproved character;

Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an elevational cross section of the device of Figure 1,during one step of the present improved method;

Figure 4 is a plan view of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3 illustrating a further step inthe process of making the dental jacket; and

Figure 6 is anelevational cross section of the 0 finished jacket inassociation with a tooth.

It will be understood that the drawing does not truly represent therelative thicknesses of the materials used, and that in large measure,the

Arranged across the sleeve near one end thereof, isa thin wall ordiaphragm II, which is permanently associated with the sleeve in, bysoldering, welding or otherwise. The diaphragm H is of flexiblecharacter, capable of collapsing transversely when the sleeve isdeformed and its flexibility also allows said diaphragm to conform tothe end of the tooth on which the jacket is to be applied, saiddiaphragm being formed preferably of a very thin element of platinum orthe like.

To permit the sleeve H! to be deformed from the circular shape of Figure2 to the non-circular shape of Figure 4, the diaphragm II shouldnormally be of a size slightly greater than the cross sectional area ofthe sleeve l0, and to illustrate this over-sized character of thediaphragm II, I have shown the diaphragm in a concave relationship inFigure 1. It will be understood,

. however, that Figure 1 is not only exaggerated for the sake ofclearness, but that it is not essential that the diaphragm normallyassume the smoothly curved concave configuration shown in Figure 1.

It is contemplated that the device of the character illustrated inFigures 1 and 2 will be manufactured in quantities, and of differentdiameters, so that a dentist may have a supply of these devices on handat all times.

Assuming now that the dentist is desirous of making a jacket of thepresentimproved character for a tooth or tooth stump, such as thatdesignated by the reference numeral l2, in Figure 6, he first selects atubular device whose cross sectional area most nearly approximates thecross sectional area of the tooth to be jacketed. He then cuts thesleeve I0 to the desired length, and

I shapes the lower edge in the proper manner, as shown at l3, so thatthe sleeve may be snugly fitted over the tooth. Usually and preferably,the lower edge i3 is sharpened so that it will ultimately extendslightly beyond the gum line H so as to completely jacket the exposedportion of the tooth l2.

It should be noted that the cutting of the sleeve i0 is performed at thelong portion thereof, leaving the chamber l5 above the diaphragm llunimpaired. Under certain circumstances, however, it may be founddesirable to reduce the depth of the chamber I5, and this may be donewithin the dentists discretion, without affecting the features of thepresent method and jacket.

After the sleeve has been cut to the desired length, and properly shapedand contoured, it is fitted over the tooth, and a mass of plasticmaterial [6, such as wax, is placed into the chamber I5 as indicated inFigure 3.

The patient is then instructed to close his jaws, thereby making "animpression upon the mass I6, as a result of which the upper surface I!of this mass of plastic material assumes the contour of the bitingsurface that is ultimately desired on the jacket.

The device is then removed in its entirety from the tooth and presentsan appearance such as that shown in Figure 5. It is then subjected to acasting procedure which may be of any usual character, whereby the massI6 is replaced in its entirety by a metal casting 18 whose outer surfaceI9 conforms exactly to the desired biting surface.

As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the step of replacingthe mass of wax, I6, with the casting l8, consists essentially informing a mold of refractory material, melting out the mass l6, and thenfilling the mold with molten metal such as gold or gold alloys. Duringthis casting procedure, the resultant mass I8 becomes permanentlyintegrated, not only with the sleeve H], but also with the diaphragm ll,so that the re-- sultant jacket is an integral unit characterized by itsrelatively thin side wall and its relatively thick and reenforced topwall, the outer surface of the latter conforming accurately to thedesired biting surface.

The jacket may then be finished off and polished in any desired manner,and preferably the upper edges of the sleeve i are ground away, so thata smooth rounded surface results as shown in Figure 6.

The jacket is then ready for application to the tooth and this isaccomplished in any usual manner, the jacket being permanently held inassociation with the tooth by a mass 28 of suitable cement.

I am aware of the fact that tooth jackets or crowns have heretofore beenmade of two parts, a tubular side wall, and a top wall, these two partsbeing secured together by welding or otherwise. The present improvementdistinguishes from such jackets by the increased thickness of the topwall, thereby imparting a greater life to the jacket, and avoiding thepossibility of having the top wall worn through'prematurely.

My present invention is further characterized by the provision of thepermanent diaphragm, the term permanent alluding not only to itsoriginal association with the sleeve ill, [but also to its finalintegration with the resultant jacket. The provision of the diaphragm isnecessary to define the chamber l5, within which the plastic mass [6 isaccommodated when the process is carried out. If the diaphragm wereomitted, the plastic mass could be inserted into the end of the sleeve,but in withdrawing the sleeve from the tooth there would be no assurancethat the plastic mass would be withdrawn with it. Furthermore, theprovision of the diaphragm definitely limits the amount of relativelyvaluable gold or other metal that is required for the casting l8.

It should be borne in mind that the drawing is somewhat exaggerated, andthat the depth of the chamber l5, and of the ultimate casting 18,

need not necessarily be as great as that shown in the drawing.

While I have referred to the sleeve as being composed of gold or itsequivalents, and I have referred to the casting as being made of gold orgold alloys, and while I have found it preferable to provide thediaphragm H of a material such as platinum, nevertheless, it will beunderstood that my invention is not restricted to the use of theseparticular materials.

In general, it will be understood that changes in the details, hereindescribed and illustrated for the purpose of explaining the nature of myinvention, may be made by those skilled in the art without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appendedclaims. It is, therefore, intended that these details be interpreted asillustrative, and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A dental jacket comprising a tubular sleeve deformable to fit snuglyaround a tooth, said sleeve having a relatively thin flexible metallicdiaphragm arranged transversely therein intermediate the ends thereof,said diaphragm being of greater \area than the internal area of thesleeve whereby it may be collapsed transversely when the sleeve isdeformed and to conform to the surface of the end of the tooth, saiddiaphragm being adapted to support a mass of material within an endportion of the sleeve.

2. A dental jacket comprising a tubular metallic sleeve deformable tofit snugly around a tooth, said sleeve having a relatively thin flexiblemetallic diaphragm arranged transversely therein intermediate the endsthereof, said diaphragm being of a material and of an area so related tothe internal area of the sleeve that it maybe collapsed transverselywhen the sleeve is deformed and to conform to the surface of the end ofthe tooth, said diaphragm being adapted to support a mass of materialwithin an end portion of the sleeve.

BERNARD H. EISENSTEIN.

